Welcome to my website and thanks for stopping by. If you hang around long enough, you'll figure out that Leeann Betts is the pen name for author Donna Schlachter. Why two names, you might ask? Well, Donna writes historical and Leeann writes contemporary. That was the deciding factor.

But since Leeann's "birth", Donna has also figured out something else that is both a blessing and a curse: having two personas provides twice the opportunity to promote, but also requires twice as much time and effort.

All that aside, as Leeann, I have the opportunity to be a little wilder and a little funkier than I might otherwise be. Not to mention that I get to wear cool hats (see the picture above and to the left).

That doesn't change the fact that as Leeann Betts I write stories to brighten your day. Story is at the core of our heritage and our connection with each other. What's the first thing you do when you meet a friend? You fill them in on what's happened since you last saw them. A story.

My love of story probably began in childhood when I was fascinated with books of any kind. A voracious reader,I bicycled to the library on a Saturday, filled my bike basket with books, cycled home, and be incommunicado until Monday morning, when I would repeat the process. My biggest problem was finding a librarian who would let me read above my grade level.

Writing soon followed. My head filled with the stories I'd read, I never had any trouble meeting the required page quota -- teacher asked for a two-page story? I wrote four. A three-page book report? I regurgitated scenes and character sketches by the notebook full.

But life got in the way, and soon marriage and family shoved stories and writing onto the back burner. Until 2002, when she took her first NaNoWriMo challenge to write a novel in 30 days. Not a good novel, just 50,000 words. And she was hooked--again--with storytelling.

While I don't hold any degrees in writing, English, or literature, I figure I have written enough books to fill an 18-wheeler, at least by my own
estimate.

I am represented by Terrie Wolf of AKA Literary Management at www.akalm.net.

Terrie is always looking for a great book that keeps her up at night. If you're looking for representation, email her at: info@akalm.net

And if you're an editor who is interested in one of my pre-published works, please contact Terrie by email or by phone: 719-368-6390

I invite you to subscribe to my quarterly newsletter. As an incentive to join, I will send you the link to a short story featuring Carly Turnquist, forensic accountant, star of the By the Numbers series. We will never share, trade, or give away your contact information, and you can unsubscribe at any time: